Monday 24 June 2013 09.22 EDT
First published on Monday 24 June 2013 09.22 EDT

The focus of our network is still firmly on local government. But local government does not exist in a vacuum. Place-shaping is about all the leaders, at every organisational level, who run local services: political leaders, professional leaders and frontline leaders. Local government is not and cannot be divorced from the local area in which it exists.

The weight of local councils' responsibilities keeps expanding and the size of the challenge, all the way from local economic growth, arts and culture, planning and welfare, through to health and wellbeing, is huge.

Local government is entwined with the local community. It works in partnership with other parts of the public sector, including emergency services and the NHS, and with a wide range of other partners, including people from local community groups, housing associations, local businesses, charities and faith groups.

We know how important shared knowledge is and our site is a tool for all those involved in innovative local services, against one of the toughest fiscal backdrops for a generation. The Guardian Local Leaders Network brings together local government professionals who are at the heart of shaping local areas. We provide the latest headlines, insight and expert comment, as well as organising discussions where you can thrash out ideas and debate the issues that matter.

We do not think local government leaders are just those with the word "leader" in their job title. We all know local people who demonstrate leadership qualities in their everyday working lives and the Local Leaders Network is here to highlight and celebrate those qualities.

We're open to ideas, to debate and to discussion about leadership at every level of the local community. We'll be writing more about the local leaders of the future, as they start their careers.

We support all open debate and discussion of what works well in local areas, and far from having a narrow focus on just those people who run local organisations, we have a much wider understanding of what comprises local leadership. If you're not already a member, join us now and help us highlight good leadership, wherever it happens.

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